Why Do We Accumulate So Much Stuff?

As I have been remembering and writing about hiking, and travels in my van, I have been reminded of something I haven’t thought about for sometime. That something is how well I managed without much ‘stuff.’ When hiking, I carried everything on my back. I had a variety of clothing, a long sleeved shirt, a short sleeved shirt, one hiking skirt, one pair of tights, one set of rain gear (pants and jacket), two pair of socks, one pair of shoes, and a ball cap. For colder weather (New Hampshire and Maine) I added a winter ski jacket, wool cap, and gloves. That’s it, one of everything I needed. The bedroom was a thin pad and a sleeping bag, kitchen a plastic bowel and spoon and one coffee cup, plus liter container for water. The medicine chest was anti-bacterial ointment and a few band aides and the repair kit consisted of duct tape. Personal hygiene was taken care of by TP, baby wipes, toothpaste, floss, and a toothbrush. Oh, I should add that I had a bandanna that doubled as washcloth and at times a towel.

The nature of these necessary items changed when I began traveling and living in my minivan, but everything fit inside. My dishes, cookware, and everything connected with a kitchen, except the food, fit in one large plastic tub. My clothes, summer and winter, fit in two smaller ones. I also traveled with a rather large library, as I am unable to forgo reading or books. And I had picture albums also. But now, stuff is again creeping back into my life. I have been an apartment dweller for over two years now, swearing after I finished the last thru-hike in 2007, that I would never go into the woods again (knowing full well I did not mean it).

I look around this efficiency apartment and see of all things, a bread machine, a microwave, on loan from the landlady, more dishes and glasses than I can use although I still drink my coffee out of the same plastic mug, and two shelves of spices I don’t use. Hanging up are baseball caps, a collection of purses, many more books, a box full of earrings, and worst of all, two closets, which are full of coats and other clothing. In my defense I will add that I volunteer in a thrift store and it is hard to pass up a cashmere sweater for fifty cents, maybe up to $3.00. But I’m beginning to feel I have lost something, freedom maybe. And how many coats do I really need? Not as many as I have.

Since I have just a one room apartment, (although a large room), space forbids putting anything else in cupboards, or on top of anything. No matter how good a bargain, I just cannot have it. I did a search on too much stuff and got over a million hits. So I surmise that others have this problem also. Some of the articles suggest is it in out historical makeup to collect, as we were once hunters and gatherers. Other articles give suggestions on how to organize the stuff; so supposedly, there is room for more. But I am reminded of a free spirited woman who was cooking and living in one of the hostels in which I was fortunate enough to stay. Her theory, and we were talking about heavy backpacks at the time, was that the more secure the hiker felt, the less need for a lot of equipment.

I have been thinking of this and find a lot of truth in it. So, as a result of writing this blog, I have gone through my apartment, especially those two closets, to see how much I have way over and beyond my needs. The first pass through has resulted in a huge pile of jeans, sweaters, and coats that don’t fit, or don’t feel right on me, or I have not worn this past year. They will be donated either to a commune I know of in Virginia, or back again to a thrift store from whence they came. And I pledge to do better in the future, and try to keep my lines firmly in place. But I’m keeping the bread machine, and the books.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nancy Gowler

Nancy is 73 and happily lives alone in a small North Carolina mountain town. Life wasn’t always this way. In 1999 she broke free from a toxic marriage by deciding to hike the Appalachian Trail. The hike...read more